Work & commute · Algoma

Work & commute in Algoma, MI

Most working residents leave Algoma for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (23%), Walker (6%) and Kentwood (5%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

162 of 5,266 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,104 Algoma residents head out of town to work, 162 work right here, and 1,638 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Algoma.

5,104live here, work elsewhere

162live and work here

1,638work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Algoma goes to work

Grand Rapids14.1 mi away

23%1,201

Walker13.5 mi away

6%327

Kentwood19.3 mi away

5%276

Plainfield6.2 mi away

5%267

Wyoming19.4 mi away

5%255

Rockford3.6 mi away

5%249

Cascade19.4 mi away

5%239

Sparta5.6 mi away

3%175

Algoma (in town)right here

3%162

Ada14.2 mi away

2%99

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%2,016

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Algoma commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

23%

56%

15%

23%Under 10 mi

56%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Algoma is a commuter town

0.34jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Algoma are

1,800 jobs are based in Algoma. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Algoma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Algoma

1,800 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)42%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Algoma residents hold

5,266 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+93%

Jobs based in Algoma, 2011 → 2021: 934 → 1,800. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2021. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.